Bishops say first response after being charged with sedition was prayer

MANILA, Philippines — The four bishops involved in the sedition case filed by the Philippine National Police – Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) disclosed on Sunday that their first move upon knowing about the complaint was to pray.

The four bishops included in the sedition case were Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP Vice President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, and Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr.

“When we received the news about our inclusion as respondents in the case of sedition and other crimes filed by the CIDG-PNP before the Department of Justice, our first response was prayer. We held no press conferences together. We begged off from interviews. We attended no rallies. We chose to pray,” they said in a fraternal message.

“Prayer is our best weapon against every evil. Prayer is power. This is a good time to be reminded of this,” they added.

According to the four bishops, they pray not only for their own safety, but also for the accusers and the Department of Justice who handles the case.

“We prayed instantly, even until now, for our accusers. May they meet the God of all Truths, be touched by His grace and stay away from the prince of lies. We invite Bikoy to turn back to God whose offer of mercy and forgiveness is without limits,” they said.

“We have been praying fervently, too, for the team of prosecutors tasked to evaluate the case. May they be guided by nothing but the spirit of justice and truth. There can be no justice without truth. Justice without facts is no justice at all. We cling to the belief that our officials in the Department of Justice adhere to these values,” they added.

The four of them reiterated that they would not engaged nor help in anything that would bring social change through illegal means.

Consequently, the Church officials continue to appeal the accusers to live in truth in order to be free.

“Now that all respondents have filed their respective pleadings, we renew our faith in the power of truth to set us all—accusers, accused and justice officials together—free. And we renew our appeal to those who accuse us. There is joy and peace in living in the truth. We reach out to you in peace,” they said.

The bishops also emphasized that they would comply with the rule of law when it comes to the sedition case filed against them.

Nevertheless, they said that their “mission is yet incomplete” and that they “will not be discouraged” as they continue to ask the public to pray for them.

It could be noted that the PNP-CIDG filed a sedition complaint against 35 individuals for their supposed role in the proliferation of “Ang Totoong Narcolist” videos.

The said videos accused close relatives and allies of President Rodrigo Duterte of their alleged involvement in the drug trade. /je

READ: Sedition case filed vs Robredo, 35 others over ‘Bikoy’ videos